Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has mounted a strong defence to the use of drones in delivering medical items.

According to the Ofoase/Ayirebi Member of Parliament, the drone delivery network is designed to complement effort at ensuring medical services are extended to the doorstep of every Ghanaian.

The drone delivery network will be run by the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health in partnership with the private company called Zipline Ghana Limited is costing the country some 12 million dollars. It is expected to ensure the delivery of over 140 products, including essential medicines, anti-retroviral drugs, vaccines, contraceptives and medicines for the treatment of malaria among others.

Answering questions by journalist today, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah justified the move, insisting it is to complete effort at ensuring equity in health care delivery in the country.

“It is designed to be a complement, a complement to the many efforts that are been made to ensure that we extend medical services to the doorstep of every Ghanaian. Remember that over the years we have done a number of things including the chips compound concept, the health centre concept, the polyclinic concept and then the referral processes as well” he said.

“We want to as much as possible get medical services as close as possible to the people. And so this is designed to be a complement to the many efforts that are ongoing, so that if you are in a particular area where this health logistics maybe are not getting there on time, the Ghana health service has warehouses in this four delivery areas” he added.

Meanwhile the Minority in Parliament have described the move as “misplaced priority” demanding a presidential intervention to halt the consideration of the service agreement between the government and Zipline International Incorporated.